The Hunter
by Jadiona
Summary: A different Twilight, one where Bella isn't quite so innocent. She moves to Forks on a job, and already knows entirely too much about what the Cullen's are. They don't know what she is.
1. Return

The Hunter

**A.N.: **I was just moving back to Forks, but it was only temporary. I didn't plan on staying, I had only lived here for a few months when I was a baby, and had visited my father only a few times since. I was here on a job, nothing more, kill the vampires, and then I would be on the move again. This was my first job without a chaperone, and I intended to prove myself. A different Twilight, one where Bella isn't quite so innocent, naïve, and gullible.

**Disclaimer:** I have never and will never own the Twilight Saga.

Ch 1 – Return

Bella POV

It had been four years since my last visit. This wasn't a visit though, this was business.

Nineteen years ago my mother had enrolled in Forks high, because she had been on a mission. A vampire had been stocking Port Angeles, and it was my mother's first personal mission. She had been seventeen when she had enrolled as a senior, but had gotten in over her head, and not with the vampire. We could fight vampires; that was easy, once you learned how. She couldn't, however, combat young love. She had prematurely gotten married, ended up pregnant, and I had been the product.

I, Bella Swan, had been a mistake, an accident. I had had it drilled into me a thousand times; I never should have been born, at least not then. My mother had always planned that she would eventually have a child, but she had always believed it would be the product between another hunter, never this. I was never meant to exist, not that it mattered, I did, end of story.

My mother, Renee, was one of the strongest hunters in our group, and her husband, Phil, was the leader. I was on my first private mission, back in Forks. My father himself had called and told us of the vampires in Forks. It had been Phil, who had decided to send me here, and I had to admit that I was excited; my first true vampire hunt.

My father, Charlie, the chief of police, didn't know that I was being sent out, he wouldn't know until I knocked on the door. I knew he would freak when he realized that I was the hunter of choice.

I was driving my black Pontiac Solstice, which had been a birthday gift to me on my sixteenth birthday from my mom, out to Forks. It was probably going to be the sweetest vehicle that the town of Forks had ever seen.

I only had three bags and my purse with me. My purse consisted of my wallet with all three of my fake ID's, my papers for school enrollment, my cash, my credit card, my cell phone, my IPOD, some basic makeup, a small vial of Calts Oil, and one tampon. In my first bag I had all the clothes and toiletry items that I needed. In my second bag were my laptop, and all the personal items that I take wherever I go. And in the last bag was my hunting gear.

Now vampires weren't like the old myths tell you. Vampires don't burn in the sun, they sparkle. Holy water doesn't work, crosses don't work, stake only works to kindle a fire, and forget everything else that you have ever heard. A vampire is like rock, so a bullet will do no good. They don't shy away from onions and garlic, and their eyes can be black, red, pink, or gold.

There's only one way to kill a vampire, burn it to ash, and spread the ashes. No matter how handsome or sexy a vampire looks it's deadly.

Vampires don't have heartbeats; they don't have blood running through their system, and technically don't need blood to survive.

Vampires are its, there are no he's or she's. No matter what sex they had when they were human, they're no longer human, and are no longer of a sex.

A vampire doesn't have a conscience or morals, it isn't possible. Vampire's can be convincing that they have emotions, but they don't have that either.

Our hunting group specialized in vampires, but we knew of the other creatures out there, we never lost sight of that. Our group was called Rose based off of Phil's great great grandmother back when she had started our group.

I knew my father wasn't going to like the fact that they had sent me, but we were currently short on number, and fifteen year olds were going out on hunts by themselves currently. We had been seriously depleted of manpower when one of our hideouts had been burnt to the ground, with six men, seven women, and twelve children burned alive. The police said it was an accident, but we all knew the truth. The soulless bastards burned one of our safe havens to the ground, and it only renewed my faith that we were doing the right thing.

On my left ring finger was a small diamond ring that I would remove before I started going to school. My fiancé, Valkron, was currently in Oregon on his own assignment. I loved him, but it wasn't in the way that a marriage should exist by. He was only two years older than me and we grew up together, we had known each other our whole lives, but we were like brother and sister. Our marriage was more of a way to take one for the team, as less and less of the females chose to get pregnant. It took to much time away from our work to be pregnant for nine months and then raise a child for the next few years. Our group was slowly dieing out so Valkron and I decided to marry, and have a child. It was a mutual decision, and at least we loved each other in some way.

I pulled to a stop in front of my father's house. It was the same paint job that it had had the last time I was here and I was shocked to feel a sense of relief. I hadn't been in a place that I could even begin to consider as home in almost a year, and though this wasn't really home either, it was the closest thing I had.

I got out, grabbed my bags, walked to the door, and rang the doorbell. A moment later Charlie opened the door, his eyes widened, "Bella, what are you doing here?"

"You're the one that needed a hunter, well here I am." I said mildly.

**A.N.: **Pontiac Solstice on profile. So concludes the first chapter, reviews will keep me writing more chapters. I need to know what you think of the story, if you like it, if you'd rather have it rated M or keep it T. If I get ten or more reviews I'll put up another chapter next week, if not it will be up when I get around to it. So please review.


	2. Reaction

**A.N.: **Thanks for the great reaction, for the reviews, the faves, the alerts, and for reading.

**Disclaimer:** I have never and will never own the Twilight Saga.

Ch 2 – Reaction

Bella POV

"What?" Charlie spluttered.

"Well, dad, I'm the hunter they sent. Now are you going to let me in or am I going to have to stay in a hotel while I'm here." I said with the same mild cool.

Charlie stepped out of the way; his eyes were glazed over with shock. "I can't believe they sent you for this, you're a child."

I rolled my eyes; I had been helping with the hunts since before I could remember. I was no normal child. "Well, if it's any consolation my mother didn't agree to it. It was Phil's idea. We're short handed, Charlie, there are kids younger than I going on the hunts on their own. Besides I haven't been a child for a long time."

Charlie's head fell in his hands, "You're too young for this."

"I'm a month older than Renee was when she came here on her first hunt." I said.

Charlie took me in, two of the bags slung over my left shoulder, my purse slung over my right, and my last bag in my right hand. I was wearing a pear of jeans and a light gray tee that was unflattering to my curves. Then he saw the ring and zeroed in on it. "What the hell does this mean?" He snapped as he grabbed my hand in anger.

"I'm engaged to a hunter named Valkron." I said.

"Is your mom okay with this? Do you actually love each other?" Charlie asked.

"My mom isn't okay with it, but she isn't not okay with it either. She realizes that it's a necessary evil. I do love Valkron but not in the way you mean, he's like a brother to me. It was a mutual agreement between him and me." I said.

"Why are you marrying him?" Charlie asked.

"Our culture is dying out, Rose, our faction is almost extinct. We need a new generation to start training, and soon. I'm taking one for the team. Besides it will keep me out of action for a few years, you ought to be happy." I said with a shrug.

"At the cost of you having a child with a man you don't love, how could I possibly be happy about that?" Charlie said.

My temper flared, I hated the way he thought of us. He had always thought that what we did was in someway wrong, especially when it came to people my age. "Look, you don't have arguing rights with me, Charlie. I'm here on a mission, nothing more. You haven't seen me in four years; you haven't even bothered to contact me in two. Be glad they sent me, because if it weren't for this mission I seriously doubt that you'd be seeing me anytime soon. Now, if you are going to raise holy hell because of this, I will rent a hotel and stay there for the duration of this mission. Or you can be civil and we _might_ actually get some father-daughter time."

Charlie huffed as his face turned bright red, "You still have the same bedroom."

I stepped past him and headed toward the stairs. "Look, I haven't had any sleep in over two days, so I'm going to get some sleep and you can argue with me in the morning before I go to school." I said, and then continued up the stairs and to my bedroom.

I dropped my bags on the floor along with my purse. I reached in my hunting bag, and pulled out my gun. It was a .357, it wouldn't do any good against a vampire, but it would against most other things, including the common thief. I shoved it under the pillow of the bed, and lay down on top of the covers. I fell asleep in a matter of seconds.

That night I dreamt of Valkron. He had rich golden blond shoulder length hair that often fell in his eyes. His eyes were a strange yellow color, like that of cat; his whole family on his father's side had that eye color. It was strangely unnerving to see, but if you knew him long enough you got used to it. On the back of his neck was a small tattoo that was an entanglement of ivy, and my first name in cursive underneath. Tonight, in my dream, he was wearing faded, holey jeans, a tee with the emblem of the cross on it, and an old biker's jacket. He wore a belt and in his belt was an eight inch knife that he carried everywhere. In his hand was a small ring box.

It was a conversation that we had had only a few weeks ago.

"_Bella, I wanted to talk to you before I headed to Oregon as it sounds like my mission is going to take awhile." Valkron said quietly, softly, just like he did before he put an animal out of its misery._

_I never liked it when he used that voice, because it almost always meant something was seriously wrong. "What?" I said wearily, I knew what his next words were going to be so I planted my feet firmly. Even though I also realized that I would do as he requested, I always did, I didn't want to though._

"_Perhaps we should go for a walk; I'd prefer we talked in private. You know, away from Rose." Valkron said and, as usual, he didn't wait for my reply; he just started walking, so I followed just like always._

_We walked outside and several blocks before he finally stopped, and turned to look at me. "I've been thinking for a while now, and you know how our organization is dwindling rather rapidly, so I'm wondering if you would consider marrying me." Valkron said and tossed me the ring box. _

_I caught it reflexively, and opened the lid. Embezzled in the velvet hole was a slender gold band with a small diamond on top. I looked at him in sheer horror, not because of the marriage idea; that was reasonable, expected, we had talked of it before, but because of the ring. It looked real, and it had to have cost him a small fortune. "This isn't real, is it?" I asked and I could tell that my horror could be heard in my voice._

"_Of course it's real, 24 karat gold, and a 1.5 carat diamond. I wouldn't get anything but the best for you, Bella." Valkron said._

_I groaned, "Valkron, you can't afford this, I'll marry you but you shouldn't have bought me this." _

"_Well I did, and before you waste your breath saying it, I will not take it back. Bella, I know you aren't exactly thrilled with being out of commission for four years while you raise a kid…" He trailed off._

"_But, it's taking one for the team." I said softly as I held the box out to him._

_He looked at me in confusion._

"_Put it on me, idiot." I said._

_He laughed, came over, reached out, took the ring out of the box, and slid it on my finger. "At least we love each other, it's better than some of the marriages in our organization." He said as he shoved the box in my jean pocket, and then wound his hand in mine. We headed back toward Rose._

I woke at six AM to my internal alarm, and got up. I wasn't going to head downstairs yet though. I didn't want to deal with my father yet. I ruffled through my clothes and found a tight fitting black tee, a pair of faded hipster jeans, and a lacy black bra and panties. I put the clothes on quickly, and put my hair into a ponytail. My shirt covered both of the tattoos I had. The first was on the back of my shoulder, and was a tattoo of a blue rose, every member of the Rose organization had one in that spot, though not everyone's was blue. My second tattoo was a pair of angel wings on the small of my back with Valkron in cursive underneath.

I pulled a backpack out of my second bag, and put my laptop in it as well as two notebooks, several pens, a pack of pencils, and a ream of paper. I grabbed my purse and put the gun in it. Then I put all of my stuff away, and shoved the bag with my hunter gear under the bed.

I waited till ten minutes before school before I finally headed downstairs. Charlie was sitting at the table, waiting on me, as I expected. "We'll have to talk after school; I can't be late to my first day." I said as I headed past him.

Charlie's face turned red and he remained stonily quiet. I got in the Pontiac and headed straight to school. As I pulled in the parking lot I noted that there was a fancy Volvo at the front, it had to belong to the vampire. I got out and headed to the office. Once I was inside I told the lady at the desk that I had just moved here, and needed to start my classes. I filled out the paperwork, and then was given a schedule according to where I could fit.

The first five classes passed in a blur; there wasn't a vampire in any of them. I did get several admirers, including three boys named Tyler, Mike, and Eric; two girls had latched onto me named Jessica and Angela, and there was already a jealous bitch watching my every move, Lauren.

Then I got to lunch, and that was when I saw them, five in all. The first I classified was the large, muscular male with dark hair, a brute. The one that sat beside him was a gorgeous blond, a succubus. The next was a male with blond disarrayed hair and thin muscles, a fighter. The female beside him was angelic and tiny, she would be dangerous as she had to have an ability; all the small ones did. The last was a male with copper colored hair and seemed average, I wasn't sure of how to classify him. They all had black eyes so I couldn't tell what they hunted yet. I'd have to wait till after they hunted to know.

As I sat down at the table with Jessica I asked her who they were.

"Those are the Cullen's. Mr. and Mrs. Cullen's children, Carlisle is a doctor at the hospital and Esme substitutes teach every once and awhile. They're names are Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, and Edward." Jessica replied.

"Are their parents of the same white skin tone?" I asked feigning only semi-interest.

The boy with the copper hair's head shot up and he looked at our table.

"Actually, now that you mention it, yes." Jessica replied cocking her head, "Why?"

"No reason, do any of them have red eyes?" I replied casually.

Their whole table was looking at me now.

"What, like a vampire, and as a matter of fact, no", Jessica said.

I laughed in earnest, "No, not like a vampire. Vampires are fictitious. I meant, like an albino, one of my friends back where I come from was albino." I said. That, at least, wasn't a lie; one of the hunters in my faction _was_ albino.

Edward POV

I heard the words through Jessica's mind as she played them over in her head. I hated her boring mind, but these words, from the new girl next to her, caught my by surprise. _"Are their parents of the same white skin tone?" _Jessica couldn't figure out why the new girl, Bella, would ask such a question.

I looked up and was met by a pair of chocolate eyes before she looked back at Jessica.

Jessica answered honestly, "Actually, now that you mention it, yes, why?"

"No reason, do any of them have red eyes?" Bella replied.

The rest of my family caught her words, and suddenly we were all staring at her. She didn't seem to notice. Did she somehow know what we were? My thought was echoed by my family.

Jessica's next comment caught me by even deeper surprise, "What, like a vampire, and as a matter of fact, no."

Bella laughed and her laugh was like music. "No, not like a vampire. Vampires are fictitious. I meant, like an albino, one of my friends back where I come from was albino." Her words sounded honest, and her heart hadn't suddenly started racing, so it was clear she was telling the truth.

It satisfied me and my family, she didn't know what we were. Her obvious dismissal of our existence proved she didn't know, and she explained her reasoning as well, and it made sense.

"What's running through the new girl's mind, Edward?" Jasper asked.

I focused in on that area, but got nothing. I looked to Jasper wide-eyed, this wasn't possible. "Her mind isn't there, I can't read it." I whispered fiercely.

"What do you mean you can't read it?" Emmett asked.

"It doesn't exist. It's like no one is sitting there." I said.

"How is that possible?" Jasper asked.

I shook my head, I didn't know. Suddenly Alice's thoughts distracted me, she was having a vision. _Bella–with her chocolate eyes–was laughing, her hand in mine, as we sat in a field that I recognized as my meadow._ The vision changed, it was actually the same scene, except Bella's eyes were now red. Then one more vision appeared and it was of Bella and me in a bed together. Alice looked directly at me as she said mildly, "Well it looks like we found Edward's mate."

**A.N.: **I'm at it again, bad Jade. I still need to know if you want me to change the rating to M, as always, please review.


	3. Danger

**A.N.: **Thank you for getting me to thirteen reviews, for the faves, the alerts, and for just reading it in general.

**Disclaimer:** I have never and will never own the Twilight Saga.

Ch 3 – Danger

Edward POV

Bella came into biology a minute before the bell rang. Her face was flushed and she was breathing hard. The flush was beautiful, and she seemed distracted. As the class had assigned seating and all the chairs were full except for the one next to mine I knew she would be sitting next to me. Everyone was already here, and I saw her eyes do a quick once over of the room.

She recognized that the seat beside me was the only one open. She took a deep breath and her eyes took on the look of cold calculation as she took me in. I shuddered from the look in her eyes, and then she blinked and it was gone replaced by a shy excitement, and I wondered if I had even seen it.

Surely this girl couldn't possibly have looked like that, there was no way that a girl who looks so young and fragile could have eyes of a killer. She walked up to the desk and Mr. Munoz told her what we were starting today, and pointed out the chair beside me as if she couldn't put two and two together on her own. Bella nodded and walked my way, and that was when I got my first real whiff of her.

The smell was intoxicating, and set my throat ablaze in a way that nothing ever had. The smell of her blood promised to quench my thirst the way nothing possibly should. I had never smelled anything like it in all my years, and I knew that if I wasn't careful I would end up moving my face to her neck and draining her here in this classroom. She wouldn't even know what hit her.

I forced myself to stop breathing as she took the seat beside me, and counted slowly in my mind. Mr. Munoz drawled on and on about the phases of a cell. I couldn't focus on it, wouldn't normally be able to anyway, but today it was even harder. Bella didn't seem to be paying attention either as she was drawing a set of angel wings on the top half of her page in her notebook. I couldn't help but look at both her and her drawing every few seconds. I was pretty sure she didn't see my glances.

I was up to 574 in my mental counting when I recognized Mr. Munoz's thoughts, as he recognized that she wasn't paying any attention to his lecture. "What is the first phase of the cell cycle, Miss Swan?"

Bella didn't look up from her wings, "Prophase is the first phase in cell division, when chromosomes condense and can be seen as two chromatids under a microscope. Metaphase is the second phase of cell division, during which chromosomes line up in preparation for separation. Anaphase is the third phase of cell division during which chromosomes move to the poles of the spindle. Telophase is the last phase of cell division, in which daughter cell nuclei form around chromosomes at opposite ends of the dividing mother cell. And Interphase is the period during which a cell is not actively dividing, when other activities such as DNA synthesis take place, cells spend most of their life cycle in Interphase. I believe that more than answers your question."

Most of the class was gaping at her. He hadn't even started talking about Anaphase and Telophase yet, and he had only barely made mention of Metaphase when he saw that she wasn't paying attention. Clearly she was quite intelligent, and obviously had been paying better attention than I had given her credit for. It made me wonder if that look in her eyes hadn't been my imagination, and if she had noticed the fact that I had been sneaking peaks at her all period.

Mr. Munoz didn't call on her again as he didn't like being one upped by a student. The rest of the class passed without incident and I got up to 4012 in my head by the time the bell rang. I headed to my next class immediately.

Bella POV

I headed to gym, but wasn't required to dress out as we were discussing our next sport of choice. We were going to be starting volleyball, a fair sport, if you had the patience for it. My personal favorite sports were dodge ball, fencing, archery, wrestling, martial arts, and boxing, not that we could technically do any of those in gym class. I waited till about twenty minutes before the end of class, and then I slipped out. I headed straight to the glove box in my car. I reached inside and pulled out the small tracking chip as well as a fancy pen. I dropped my backpack in the passenger seat and pulled out my science notebook. I ripped out the sheet with the wings on it and wrote a note on the paper.

I walked to the Volvo, put the note under the wiper, put the tracking device under the left rear fender, and then returned to my car. I started my car and drove off. The bait was more than set.

When I got to Charlie's I headed straight to my room. I pulled my hair out of the ponytail, and slipped off the shirt. I then put on a silver-blue three-quarter sleeve tee that had the word angel embroidered in the lower back. I pulled my gun out of my purse, and slipped it under my shirt at the small of my back. I went over to the dresser, pulled out my set of throwing daggers and a bottle of spray paint and headed outside.

I was glad that this house was bordered with forest. I headed to a tree towards the back, but that I could still see the road from. I proceeded to use the spray paint to create a target which featured a bull's eye and two outer circles. I stepped back twenty paces, and started throwing daggers.

Edward POV

When last hour was over I headed out to the parking lot hoping to see a new vehicle, and see her. She wasn't there, and there wasn't a new vehicle in the lot. I headed to my Volvo and saw the paper under the wiper. I pulled the paper out from under the wiper. On the top half was the wings that I had seen Bella drawing. The bottom half was a letter to me. My family arrived and looked over my shoulders as I read it to myself.

_Dear Edward,_

_I saw you checking me out during biology today; you're not very good at being inconspicuous. I wanted to stick around to talk to you, but I had to get home, so I left this instead. My cell phone number is *** - *** - **** so please call if you want to get together. I saw the way you looked at my chest, so I know you do. _

_Bella_

_P.S. There's a great Italian restaurant in Port Angeles, its name sounds a lot like mine._

_P.P.S. Lose the black contacts, they're unflattering to your eyes._

Emmett burst into guffaws, Jasper chuckled, Rosalie laughed, and Alice just snorted.

"It looks like you have an admirer." Emmett said as he got back under control.

I rolled my eyes and got in my car. They all got in and I started for home. As I drove I made a last minute decision and headed toward the Chief's house instead. Rumor had it that Bella was Chief Swan's daughter, and in this small town everyone knew where Chief Swan lives. When we reached the house, the first thing I noticed was the black Pontiac Solstice that sat in the drive. The second thing I saw was that Bella was outside in their yard; at the small of her back on her shirt was the word angel, underneath her shirt was the unmistakable shape of the butt of a gun. The irony didn't escape me, or my family. One of the trees had white circles on it and Bella stood about ten yards away from it. Her right hand was raised with a dagger in it. She was throwing daggers. I was shocked.

She must have heard our vehicle idling because she spun around, and after she saw us she waved with her left hand. Then she spun back around and threw the dagger. It buried itself in the tree to the hilt right on the bull's eye.

She the spun back around and jogged toward us. She stopped at the edge of the yard. "Having fun staring at my ass, Edward, I know I have a great butt, but you really need to learn to be more inconspicuous." Bella said.

I turned my head away, and knew I'd be red if such a thing was capable for me.

"Actually, I believe he was staring at the gun you have under your shirt." Alice said.

Bella shrugged, "His eyes were a little low for that." Bella said and then looked in the back as Emmett had rolled down the window. "You there", she said pointing past Emmett, "Jasper, right?" He nodded and she continued. "You look like you have a good throwing arm. Want to shoot some daggers with me; it's been forever since I've had a good shooting partner."

Jasper was shocked by Bella's boldness, I think we all were. Alice's statement and visions came back to my mind, and I viciously shoved them away. I refused to even think about it, it wasn't going to happen. Except, here she was, and I couldn't help but be drawn in by the way she acted. _Maybe_ she _was_ my mate.

Jasper smiled and shook his head.

Bella sighed, "What about you, big guy, I bet I could throw better than you." Bella said and looked at Emmett.

Emmett grinned, he liked Bella already. _Well at least your supposed future mate seems cool. _He thought snidely and got out of the car before I could stop him.

I groaned and pulled to a stop out front. We all got out now that Emmett had decided to stick around.

"You said that you'd bet, how much are you betting?" Emmett asked intrigued.

Bella laughed and popped the trunk of her car. She opened it up and pulled out a book, "This good enough for you? It's a first edition of Dracula, signed by Bram Stoker himself. You lose; you owe me about 5k as that is the approximate value of it."

My eyes went wide, Dracula, as in vampires. Most of my family was once again wondering as to if she knew what we were.

"Oh stop looking so shocked, I bought the book from a pawn shop for about twenty bucks, the idiot believed it was a fake. I like antiquities, so I bought it." Bella walked to the tree and pulled the dagger out as if it was buried in sand and not wood. "Now usually how I do a throwing match is you start ten feet from the tree and for each Bull's eye you hit you get to throw again, but you have to go back another five feet each time." Bella looked at Emmett, "I'd usually say that I should go first, but in this case I want to see how far you can toss."

Emmett accepted the challenge and followed the rules. He threw the dagger and hit the bull's eye all the way until he was forty feet back, but then he got cocky and the dagger went in about an inch below it.

"Good go, I can do better." Bella said. She went over to the tree pulled the dagger out of tree. Then she started tossing. With each increment that she added she adjusted her throw slightly, changing the height of her arm, the angle of throw, the pressure before releasing, and her stance. She hit the forty feet with a bull's eye, and then went back another five hit the bull's eye, and went back another five.

She was now fifty feet away and suddenly she took the point of the dagger in her hand instead of the hilt. She moved her arm like she had before but at the very end when she flicked her wrist it went out of her hand at about a fifty degree angle. It was flipping over and over about twice as fast as all the other times, and when it made yet another bull's eye it buried in past the hilt.

She frowned, "That's going to be a pain to get out." She looked at Emmett, "I believe I won."

Emmett groaned, but got out his wallet and handed over 5k.

And I was beginning to believe that I actually had seen the look of a killer in her eyes.

Bella POV

After they finally left I made supper for Charlie and me, and used the excuse of homework to delay our fight another day. That night I checked the signal on my tracking device and got the info on where they lived. I created a map, and then I put a snap wire on my window–if someone opened it tonight, I'd know. After that I called Valkron's cell. It went straight to voicemail.

"Hey Valkron, it's me, Bella. You must be working on your hunt right now. I just thought I'd give you the low down on the case. There are seven vampires, all animal hunters. They act like a family, it's hilarious really. At least one's been in a war zone, and at least one has an ability. One likes to place wagers, and another thinks I'm hot for it. They've taken my bait; I suspect I'll be done in a week."

**A.N.: **Please review.

**A.N. 2: **I would like to say that Forbidden, Forgotten, And Unforgiven is complete. I thank all of you who have so far read it, and suggest that you do if you haven't yet.


	4. Author's Note Important, Please Read

**Author's Note – Important, Please Read**

I am sorry to say that all of my currently running Twilight Fictions are going to be removed from this site. For those of you that are fans of Red Nights, Alice, Angel's Sisterhood, Scarlet Hate, Death Burn, Sun Of Blood, Soul's Light, and/or my newest, The Hunter; they will be removed from Fanfiction by the end of March. They are taking a hike down the road to The Writers Coffee Shop Library, which you can find at twcslibrary(dot)com, or look it up on Google. All the titles are the same and my profile name is still Jadiona. Forbidden, Forgotten, And Unforgiven, Shadowed Abyss, and Five Years Later will also be put up on The Writers Coffees Shop Library, though I will be leaving the fictions up here as well.

I will finish Sheer Crimson and Gods Of War on this site, and will also put Gods Of Rule up on this site when I get around to writing it. From now on, I will only be posting one shots and rated T or K fanfictions on this site. Due to the fact that Fanfiction fails to have a rating NC-17–which as I've been notified is actually what my stories are–my stories are no longer going to be available on fanfiction(dot)net.

If you wish to read continuations to my stories I will be putting up a link to my TWCS profile, as well as links to the start of each of my stories on my Fanfiction profile. The prequel, Crimson Meteor, to Forbidden, Forgotten, And Unforgiven, will be posted on TWCS, because it is a NC-17 fanfiction. My other story, The Hunter, is changing to a NC-17 fanfiction because I know where I am going in it now, and I know that that rating will be needed, and that is why it is moving to TWCS.

Should Fanfiction ever create a NC-17 rating I will repost all of my stories and continue them, but as of now they will be removed from the site. Most of them will remain up for about a month, but after that they will be removed. When I start new stories that are going to be on TWCS I will mention them on both my profile as well as my fanfictions that will remain up on Fanfiction.

I hope to see reviews from all of you on TWCS, and I pray to hear that you have decided to continue reading my stories. For those of you that I read and review, I will not be stopping reading, I am not abandoning Fanfiction, and I will continue to read and review for all of my faves. I will also continue to Beta. Please know that I am sorry about this, and that if you have any concerns, or wish to contact me, that you can PM me at any time, and if the question isn't too personal to put on a review you can put it on a review for one of my stories and put PA beside it (or Please Answer).

I will make a few things clear. Sheer Crimson will have about seven more chapters, so there won't be many more lyrics. Forbidden, Forgotten, And Unforgiven will still have the extra chapter if I do ever reach 200 reviews. Gods Of War will have two more chapters, with no scheduled date as to when each will be up. All the stories that I mentioned at the beginning that will be ending will be updated one more time after this note.

If you want to see them return to Fanfiction please help to encourage the site to add a NC-17 rating, and I will return when it occurs. If you do decide to continue reading my story but decide against reviewing it on TWCS please send me a PM telling me, so I can give my thanks. They will be updated once a week just like they were on here, I hope that you all join me there, and forgive me for this inconvenience.


	5. Room

Ch 4 – Room

_September 13__th__, 2000_

_Today was my thirteenth birthday. Mom was on a hunt, again, so she wasn't here, as usual. She had left her gifts though. Phil too wasn't here. Phil and mom are going to marry soon, it's sort of creepy really. His gift was also here. Keira, my best friend was here though, she's only six months older than me. It was hard for me to believe that I now had had the tat on my shoulder for a year. The blue rose symbolized me as an official member of Rose, but more importantly it symbolizes who I am. Keira has a pink rose on her shoulder, and my other best friend, Valkron, has a black rose that fades to gray on the outer edges, AKA the death rose. _

_Most kids get jewelry and toys for their birthdays, not I. My mother's presents consisted of a cyanide pill, a vial of Calts Oil, and a crossbow with a full quiver of arrows. Phil's present had been two boxes of exploding bullets for my .357 (which I've owned since I've learned how to aim and shoot). Keira got me a set of throwing daggers, all acceptable gifts for a hunter._

_It was Valkron who broke the rules. He did actually get me a pair of really expensive binoculars. But other than that his gifts were a total waste of money, totally unacceptable, and totally sweet. And the best gifts I got. He gave me a sapphire teardrop necklace, with real gold and a real sapphire; I was too afraid to ask where he got the money from. He also got me a fancy evening gown made by Gucci and a pair of stilettos made by Prada. He sure knows how to spoil me, but most of all we went and got our tattoos today. He put my name surrounded by ivy on the back of his neck, and I got his name with a pair of angel wings sprouting from it on the small of my back. My mother is going to kill me, or him, or both of us when she finds out. _

_Blue Rose, AKA Bella_

Edward POV

Alice wouldn't shut up about how perfect Bella was for me after we got home. She thought that we'd be a perfect pair. Esme and Carlisle then had to find out what she was talking about and then they had looked to me for confirmation as to if I really did love this girl. I didn't know how to answer the question, as I myself had no true answer.

Alice sure as heck thought that Bella was my mate though, and Emmett thought she was cool even if he was still angry about losing 5k. Jasper thought she was interesting if nothing else, though he was still slightly worried that she might know too much. Rosalie on the other hand wasn't as happy, but that mostly was due to the fact that Bella was human.

According to Alice's visions Bella wouldn't be staying human though. My family's thoughts were currently too much for me to handle so I left for a little while. I wasn't a hundred percent certain where I was going until I reached her house. All the lights were out, Charlie was snoring lightly, and I could hear her quiet breathing coming from her room. The tree that she had shot the daggers at was now dagger free. I wondered briefly how she had got that last one out.

I climbed up the wall and could smell the oil; someone had lubed her window real recently. That was good for me, not so much so for her. I pushed the window and heard a quiet snap. I pulled myself into her bedroom before I looked for the source of the snap. I couldn't find anything.

I finally took a look around her room. She had a dresser with three drawers. On top of the dresser were several pieces of fancy jewelry. A teardrop sapphire necklace was laid out, an elegant diamond ring, a pair of ruby earrings, a topaz brooch, an amethyst pin, and an emerald bracelet. Each item had to have cost a small fortune. It made me wonder what her mother did for a living, because there was no way her father could have afforded even one of these pieces. Or who the sugar daddy was that had paid for it all.

I briefly looked back at her to make sure that she was soundly asleep before I decided to open her drawers. I knew anyone who saw what I was doing would think of me as a serious stalker, but I was curious. In the first drawer was an assortment of clothes split into three rows, the first row had shirts (mostly tees) which seemed to be sorted by color, the second was her pants (mostly jeans) once again sorted by color, and the last had her underwear still sorted by color. It made me wonder if she had OCD. I shut the drawer and opened the next one; in it was her throwing daggers, a bottle of spray paint, and several boxes of ammo–.387 ammo to be exact. The throwing daggers were in a wrapped up pouch but I could still see the hilts. I closed that drawer and moved onto the last.

Inside the bottom drawer was a small stack of pictures, nothing else. None of the pictures were framed, with the exception of one that was on the bottom of the stack. The first image was of Charlie and the woman I assumed to be her mother holding a baby who I assumed to be Bella. I turned it over, **'Charlie, Renee, and Bella at one month.' **I put the picture face down on the top of the dresser. The next image was of Renee again with Bella, and a man in the background; the back read, **'Renee, Phil, and Bella age eight.' **I put it down and looked at the next picture. This picture contained three people, the first was Bella, the second was a boy with dreadlocks, and the third was a tall girl with short ash-blond hair; on the back I read, **'Bella on her twelfth birthday, Valkron age fourteen, and Keira age twelve.'**

The next image was of Bella and Valkron holding hands, Bella was laughing, and a teardrop sapphire necklace was around her neck; the back read, **'Bella on her thirteenth birthday with Valkron age fifteen, Keira took the picture.' **The part with Keira seemed to have been added on at a later date. The next image was of all three of them again, Bella had a pair of ruby earrings in her ear and her hair was swept back in a ponytail; **'Bella on her fourteenth birthday, Keira age fourteen, and Valkron age sixteen.' **The next picture was of Bella with Keira, this time Bella sported an amethyst pin; **'Bella on her fifteenth birthday with Keira age fifteen.' **

The next image was different, it was of a pile of ashes and twenty-five small crosses bordering the territory; **'Safe-Haven, old warehouse, burned to the ground by V.' **I had to wonder if V meant Valkron, or if it hit a lot closer to home; namely, vampire. The next image was of Renee in a wedding dress, and Phil in a suit; **'Phil and Renee getting married, finally, June 16****th****, 2003.' **The next picture was of Bella, Renee, Phil, Keira, Valkron, and several others including a pale white man with white-blond hair and pink eyes; **'Bella, Renee, Phil, Keira, Valkron, Ezekiel, Carson, Lacey, Garrett, Margarita, Theresa, and Sampson–the albino; August 8****th****, 2003.' **

Then the next picture was of just Bella, she was smiling, an Emerald bracelet was on her wrist; **'Bella's sixteenth birthday.' **The next picture was of Valkron and Bella, Valkron was laughing and he was wearing a brand new jacket; **'Valkron's nineteenth birthday with Bella, February 10****th****, 2004.' **The next picture was of Bella, Valkron, and Keira again. Keira held a deadly looking hunting knife and she was smiling; **'Keira's seventeenth birthday, with Valkron and Bella, March 29****th****, 2004.' **

The next image was the framed one. I looked at in shock. It was a picture of a fire; a funeral pier. I could see the hint of ash-blond hair in the fire. I turned the frame over, and the inscription was carved into the back at the top. **'Keira's funeral pier, March 29****th****, 2004.' **On the bottom of the frame was one letter carved in as well, '**V.' **

Under the arm of the frame was another picture. I pulled it out and read the back first; **'Bella's seventeenth birthday with Valkron, September 13****th****, 2004.' **I turned it over. I was shocked by the difference, in all the other pictures Bella had been smiling or laughing, seemingly happy. This one she had a grim face, her eyes were alight with a cold calculation that I had seen not all that many hours ago; the eyes of a killer. She sported a topaz brooch in her hair. Valkron held her left hand, his face similarly grim. In her right rand, by her side, was her gun.

I put the pictures back away, after making sure they were in order, and then closed the drawer.

I continued my observations of her room. On her desk sat a brand new laptop, and a desk lamp. I opened the single desk drawer on the right. In it was several DVDs, in two rows; the first row consisted of An Interview With A Vampire, An American Werewolf In London, The Exorcist, Frankenstein, Dracula, Sleepwalkers, and The Mummy. The second row had Romeo And Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, Little Women, Pride And Prejudice, Sense And Sensibility, and Wuthering Heights. The contrast in the two rows shocked me.

I shut the drawer and went over to the one on the other side. This drawer had five music CDs, and school supplies. Each CD was of a different artist or group; Linkin Park, Incubus, Muse, John Williams, and Debussy. Once again there was a deep contrast. I shut the drawer.

Inside her closet were several dresses, a few skirts, and a few blouses. On the floor of her closet were two empty duffel bags, and several sets of shoes. There were two pairs of sneakers, a pair of boots, a pair of sandals, and a pair of stilettos. I closed the closet door.

On either side of her bed was a nightstand. On the side closer to her window were books. They included all six of the books in the Last Vampire series by Christopher Pike, and all nine books in the Nightworld series by L.J. Smith. There was also, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, a book of Edgar Allen Poe's short stories and poems, a book of Jane Austeen's stories, a book of William Shakespeare's plays, and another of his poems. The contrast in style was there once again.

The other nightstand, the one closest to her head had her Blackberry cell phone, and three books stacked on top of each other. The bottom book was Turn Of The Screw by Henry James, it looked like a first edition, and I wondered if it too, was an original. The second book was the copy of Dracula by Bram Stoker that she had showed us earlier. The top book was obviously a diary or a journal, on the binding of the leather cover was a hand-stitched blue rose, and on the top were the words, **'Bella, the Blue Rose.'** I wondered what it meant.

Under her pillow, just barely visible, was the butt of her gun. I peaked under the skirt of her bed. Against the wall, directly beneath her pillow, was another duffel bag, this one looked full. I decided not to try and look in it.

In the one corned of her room was a rocking chair. I sat down and watched her sleep.

Bella POV

I woke up to my internal alarm telling me that it was the crack of dawn, not that I could tell by the sky here in Forks. It was extremely cloudy out, looked like it might even rain today. The first thing I did was check the snap wire. It was broken, as I suspected, I already had one of them panting after me, good. I had a feeling it was Edward, too bad that specific vampire was really sexy, oh well, they all had to die eventually.

Next I went to the restroom, relieved myself, and proceeded to take a shower. I got dressed in a blood red tee, a pair of faded blue jeans, and my boots. I braided my hair and wrapped it around my head, so that my whole neck was visible, call me daring.

Then I checked my phone, the last thing I had to do. There was a message from Valkron just as I suspected. I listened to it, _"Glad to hear that it's going well Bell's. Remember to be watchful and call me if it looks like it will be too much for you to do alone. I really don't want to have to burn your body the way we had to with Keira, so be careful. I don't want you to die. Oh and for crying out loud put your cyanide pill in your purse just in case. Love you, Valkron." _

He was right, I would soon be in enemy territory; I needed to have that pill in my purse. I pulled the duffel bag out from under my bed, took the small bottle that had the cyanide pill out, and took out a clip that contained exploding bullets. Then I shoved the bag back under my bed, right against the wall.

I checked out my window and saw that Charlie's cruiser was already gone. I headed downstairs, and out to my car. I wanted to be at school when the Cullen's got there.

**A.N.: **If I get up to thirty-five reviews on this story by April 2nd then I will continue it on here as a rated T story. I will also write it as a NC-17 story on TWCS, but I will write an edited version on here if I have enough reviewers wishing for me to continue. On April 2nd this story will be taken down unless I get up to at least thirty-five reviews. Should I get up to that many reviews, the story will continue as a rated T story on here, I will even go so far as to mention when the chapters have been edited, so that if you wish to see the more risqué version on TWCS you will know what chapter to go to. So please review if you wish to see this story continue on here.


	6. Knowledgeable

**A.N.: **Thank you for the overwhelming support in this story. I also didn't realize that people wouldn't recognize what a cyanide pill is. A cyanide is a suicide pill, basically if she bit down on it and swallowed it it would kill her almost instantly, so it would keep her from changing if she was ever bit.

**Disclaimer: **I have never and will never own the Twilight Saga.

Ch 5 – Knowledgeable

_December 27__th__, 2000_

_Damn, stupid tee shirts. My black tee shirt rode up my back when my mother was right there, and I do mean right there. She saw the tattoo that's on my back. I probably won't be able to sit for a month after the whipping she gave me. I thank my lucky stars that Valkron wasn't around, because I don't want to think about what she would have done to him if he had been here. My mother was pissed about the tattoo, and even more so when she found out that he too had one. Thank god that Valkron was on a hunt with his father. _

_I don't get why my mother is so pissed though. It's just a tat after all. And after all the death, and blood spilling that occurs in our occupation, it only seems right to have proof of who my affection belonged to. I love Valkron, not in the way you love someone you plan on marrying, but as a brother, as my best friend. Aside from Keira, he's the most important person in my life. Why does it matter that I have a tattoo of his name on the small of my back, especially when everyone knows he could die any day. Any of us could die on a day to day basis._

_Blue Rose, AKA Bella_

Bella POV

I sat cross-legged on the trunk of my car as I waited for the Cullen's at school. I had made sure to park right next to where the Cullen's had been parked yesterday. Angela had arrived only minutes after I did, making her vehicle the second in the student lot. I waved at her when she looked towards me, but otherwise didn't remove myself from my perch. Angela waved back and then headed inside; apparently she needed to talk with a teacher. She seemed like the type that focused on getting good grades.

A few minutes later Tyler showed up, one of the three male admirers of mine that I had so far made note of. He was bolder than the other two, Eric and Mike. I could actually conceivably like the boy if I wasn't already engaged. He came up to where I was sitting, "What are you doing?" Tyler asked.

"I'm waiting on the Cullen's to show, they dropped an item in my yard last night when they stopped by." I said calmly.

"Wait the Cullen's stopped by the house last night?" Tyler asked.

"Why wouldn't they? After all, I'm the newest thing in this town since them." I said.

"I suppose, but they don't talk with anyone, they stick to themselves." Tyler said.

I shrugged, I didn't really care. I looked at him pointedly, "Did you have something to ask me?"

"Uh", even Tyler, as brave as he was, couldn't manage to answer without faltering on his words under my stare. "I was… err… wondering if you might… ah… want to go to a movie?" He finished his question rapidly.

"Maybe another time, Tyler. I'm not settled enough to consider starting dating yet. Try me again in a few weeks." I said conversationally, _if I'm still here, _was my mental addition.

Finally, almost fifteen minutes later the Cullen's pulled up. Edward noticed me perched on the trunk of my hood, he noticed a lot more than that, and I knew the look of lust when I saw it. Whether he lusted for my blood or my body, I wasn't certain, but I was suddenly positive that Edward was the one who had looked through my room. I slid off the trunk and proceeded to lean against my car. They got out at a normal human speed, whether that was due to me being right there, or the fact that they were at school, I wasn't sure. They didn't know that I was fully aware of what they were, and they were still fully acting their human façades.

I pulled out the cell phone that I had stolen out of their Volvo in their moment of distraction last night. "Here, I believe one of you guys dropped this last night, don't worry I didn't look through it." I said and tossed it to the outside toward Edward. He let his guard slip in that instant, using his speed to catch the cell before it fell to the ground. I pretended I didn't notice and continued talking. "Like what you see, Edward?"

It looked like Edward would be blushing, if such a thing were possible. "I don't know what you're talking about." Edward muttered.

I looked him over, and noted the slight bulge in his pants. "Sure you do, since you're getting a hard-on." I said pointedly, "But deny it all you like, when you want to actually stop being in denial, and consider asking me out let me know. I'll be glad to talk." I gave a salute and headed off.

Jasper POV

As we arrived in the parking lot, Bella was sitting on the trunk of her car, parked right beside where we usually park. When she saw us driving in her emotions briefly turned angry and hateful, and then it vanished, replaced by a shy excitement. And the moment had been so fast that I wondered if I had even felt it.

We parked and as Edward got out she told him that he had dropped his cell the night prior. She threw him the phone, and it seemed like she threw it deliberately wide. He caught it, but she mustn't have noticed his quick motion.

Her next words were what shocked me, "Like what you see, Edward?" She was quite forward, and in my day no respectable woman would have ever been that forward with a man. Of course, even more shocking were her emotions. She had lust coming off of her, admiration, curiosity, and yes, I could even sense love.

Edward was embarrassed by her forward comment and he muttered, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Bella obviously didn't believe him; I couldn't blame her, because aside from his embarrassment he also had an extreme amount of lust, and some love coming off of him. Yes, he liked what he saw, quite a lot.

"Sure you do, since you're getting a hard-on." She said, pausing and then continuing on a second later. "But deny it all you like, when you want to actually stop being in denial, and consider asking me out let me know. I'll be glad to talk." She did a mock salute with two fingers and then turned on her heels and walked off.

Emmett laughed after looking at Edward for confirmation on Bella's words. "Oh shut up, Emmett, or would you like me to tell the world just how many you get on a daily basis, and how many_ aren't _because of Rosalie." Edward said quietly.

Emmett grimaced and wisely kept his mouth shut, though Rosalie was now glaring at him; she was suspicious.

I too was suspicious, of Bella; something in me told me that she wasn't to be trusted. Yet it was fairly clear that Edward was falling for her, and that she was falling for him. I still couldn't shake that sudden wash of hatred that I had felt that had been aimed at us, I was certain that I hadn't imagined it.

Alice POV

The first half of a day passed without much of a hitch, though rumors and words of Bella and her mom flew heavily. No one knew what her mother did, and the principal's son claimed that there was no record of employment for her mom. So people ranged their theories from trained assassin, to secret spy, to anonymous pop star, to top secret FBI agent. It was hilarious really, the way they talked. The main thing was that no one knew the truth. And her mother had to have some kind of employment, because there was no way that the chief could have afforded Bella's car.

I had been having visions off and on throughout the day. Most of them were about Bella as a vampire, and some were of her as a human, but there were a few visions that were of a fire. It was more like a flash than anything else.

I wasn't too worried about it though, she was perfect for him.

Emmett POV

It was now lunch time. We were all already at our table. I had to admit that Bella was fun, even though I was still upset over my loss. Bella was in the lunch line, but she had only grabbed one item, lemonade. It seemed strange, since even without my memories I knew a human had to eat more than that.

Bella came over so that she was near our table, sitting down at the one closest to us. She didn't open her lemonade bottle, and I realized that she hadn't eaten yesterday either. "Why aren't you eating?" I asked, turning toward her.

Bella looked at me for a moment before looking at all our full trays, and then she returned her eyes to me. "I could ask the same of you. Though if you must know, my mother's job is hazardous at the best of times, fatal at the worst. Most of those that want revenge on her know I exist, and would gladly suffice for taking it out on me. I haven't ate school food in years, actually haven't been in school in quite a while."

I was shocked, sure I had already heard the rumors that the younger kids had started; we all had heard the rumors. But to have it confirmed that her mother was actually in something was a shock that I wasn't prepared for. "Surely they wouldn't poison a whole school full of high school students." I said.

"Probably not, that would be too expensive and wasteful. Most likely they would just set a bomb in the cafeteria. It would be perfect really, they would kill, what, ninety percent of the students in one blow. But anyways, I'm careful, that's why I carry a gun, and why I know how to throw, amongst other things." Bella said.

I frowned slightly. What did her mom do that had put her on a hit list? We spent the rest of lunch in silence, and about three minutes before lunch was over Bella got up, dumped the lemonade in the trash, and headed out.

Edward POV

Obviously Bella didn't know what I was, what my whole family was, because if she did she would never look the way she did. Her hair was up so that her whole neck was completely exposed. And she wore a blood red tee. There was no way she could know what I was.

I went to biology after the end of lunch was signaled. She was already at her seat, already doodling. At first I tried to pay attention to biology, but as the minutes dragged on my curiosity was getting the better of me. And she was right; I did want to ask her out, how wrong was that? I was a vampire, and she was a mere human. There was no way it would ever end well.

Just then Mr. Munoz decided to see how much she really knew. "What human cell spends its whole life in Interphase, Ms. Swan?"

Once again, she didn't look up. "Brain cells as well most other neurological cells never go through the cell cycle, though that is actually now being debated. Some scientists are now claiming that after so many years the brain cells do develop. It's just that no human would ever live long enough for this theory to be tested."

Mr. Munoz grumbled mentally, he was beginning to hate the fact that she knew so much. I had to admit that I was shocked. I finally looked at her drawing. It was a portrait of the girl that had been in the pictures, Keira. The drawing was rough, but it was clear that this wasn't the first period Bella had drawn in.

At first the drawing looked fairly normal, as I wasn't looking for anything out of the ordinary. Though I did notice Bella had drawn her so she seemed to be splayed at a weird angle on some form of ground. The girl's eyes were drawn so that they seemed strangely blank. The mouth was partially open, and that was when I saw it.

The neck was completely revealed, and on her neck was a fine crescent mark. And I suddenly knew that Bella knew perfectly well what I was.

**A.N.: **Bad Jade, please review.

**A****.N. 2:** Due to all the switching and moving that I am having to do with my stories they won't be updated until next weekend. So updates on all stories will occur either on the 13th or 14th of this month. This story will remain on Fanfiction as long as I am getting support for this story. Red Nights and Death Burn will be removed from Fanfiction by the 13th, so if you wish to read how far they have come I suggest you do it in this coming week. All my stories will be continued on TWCS (including a more mature version of this story), starting next weekend when they are all finally up to date, (with the exceptions of Sheer Crimson and Gods Of War, which are exclusive stories to Fanfiction).


	7. Sinker

**A.N.: **Thanks for the reviews, the faves, the alerts, and for just reading in general.

**Disclaimer: **I have never and will never own the Twilight Saga.

Ch 6 – Sinker

_September 13__th__, 2001_

_Another year, another birthday, yippee for me, not. I'm officially fourteen. Except for Valkron, my gifts sucked. Why is it so wrong to want normal presents? What I wouldn't give to get a dress as a present from my mother. I would love to get jewelry, toys, perhaps the new Gameboy Advance, but no, I get tools for hunting. Why couldn't my mother have just let me grow up with Charlie? Maybe I wouldn't have minded so much if she was ever here. Why can't she be at her own daughter's birthday? Valkron promises that it'll get better, that I'll eventually be used to it, but what if I don't want to get used to it? I suppose I don't have complaining rights considering what Valkron has gone through, but still._

_Valkron's mother died while giving birth to him. Valkron's father gave him to Serenity–an elderly hunter who was too old and sickly to be a hunter anymore–to care for him until he was old enough to join his father on the hunts. Valkron's father's a special kind of hunter, he's a semita, a tracker. He hunts down the vampire nomads, and other ones that are hard to catch. So until Valkron was twelve he spent most of his life on the road with his father. So I definitely have no complaining rights. _

_But I got off topic, my stupid gifts, and my stupid birthday. My mother's present was a new .357, Phil's present was a god damned bomb manual (I didn't even need it; my mother taught me how to make bombs before I was able to freakin' walk). And don't even get me started on Keira's gift. She knows me better than that, but she got it anyway, a vial of Sylindrix Tonic. I'll never use the stuff; damn I would never get close enough (intimately) to be able to convince a vampire to drink it. _

_Valkron on the other hand, well Valkron was sweet as always. He did get me a wicked pair of sai blades, sweet, but not normal for someone my age. He also got me a pair of ruby earrings, they're beautiful. He got me a bottle of perfume, __Initial for Women by Boucheron,__ and another dress, this time it was a pink Armani gown. Once again I don't want to know where he got the money. His last gift to me was a lesson in the technique of luring a vampire in. The hook, line, and sinker. Valkron and I are going to go on a hunt together soon so he wants me aware of how the hunt will go down. Valkron was the only good part of today._

_Blue Rose, AKA Bella_

Bella POV

The hook had been set yesterday. I had given Edward reason to chase me. Today I had created the line. He knew that I knew what vampires were; he'd want to find out how. Tonight I planned on setting the sinker, and I knew just how to do it.

I arrived home and there was a pile of junk pickup in the drive, nineteen-fifty-something Chevy truck. Out front was a tall boy, and beside him was a man in a wheelchair, they both had copper skin. I vaguely recognized them. I pulled to a stop out front so that Charlie's spot was still open.

As I got out of the car I ran through a list of names, putting the faces with the bodies. They were Quileute, so they had to know my father. Quileute's had shape-shifters in their bloodline, something I pretended not to know. But based off of the way the boy looked, the gene had been reactivated, due to the Cullen's–yet another reason for me to kill the bloodsuckers. I couldn't let that suspicion get confirmed though, because if I did, I would have to call in another hunting faction to destroy the shape-shifters. Since shape-shifters technically were no longer human, they to must be destroyed, but if I didn't know for a fact that it was happening I could choose to ignore it.

The man in the wheelchair had to be a fishing buddy, Billy, I remembered now. His legs had been permanently damaged in the car wreck that had killed his wife back when I had only been a few years old. They had had three kids, a set of twin girls who were around two years older than me, Rebecca and Rachel, and a boy about two years younger than me, Jacob. That was the boy that stood here now.

I came up to them, "Hello Billy, Jacob", I said with a slight nod. "You guys here to Charlie?"

Jacob looked shocked that I remembered them, or perhaps that I even knew them. "Yeah, we're here to see Charlie, and a football game." Billy said.

I went over to the door and unlocked it. "Well he should be home shortly, so why don't you come in and make yourselves comfortable. I'm sure there's a college game on, or something. If I had known you guys were coming I would have stopped at the store and got some better food, so I could make something a little nicer than average. Oh well, I'm sure I can make something decent." I said quickly as I walked inside and toward the kitchen, apparently my plans for setting the sinker was to be put on hold for the time being.

"Jake, why don't you go see what's on TV?" Billy asked as he rolled into the kitchen with me.

As Jake walked into the living room I heard him mutter, "Subtle much."

I resisted the urge to chuckle. Billy had inadvertently found out what my mother was several months before I was born. "So how much does the boy know?" I asked quietly as I opened the refrigerator.

"Of you, nothing, and with any amount of luck, it will stay that way." Billy said.

"Glad to hear it, and how much does the boy know of the vampires in town?" I asked.

"He knows the tribal legends, but he thinks of them as just that." Billy said.

"But that will be changing soon won't it?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"Yes, very soon by the growth spurt he's taken." Billy replied.

I pulled out some steaks, and some vegetables. "Okay, I'm going to pretend I didn't ask that question, and more importantly that you didn't answer it." I said as I set the food on the counter.

Billy laughed, "You know, he isn't that much younger than you though."

I turned to look at Billy, "In comparison to me, Billy, he will always be a boy. Even when he does become… a you know. Even when he does realize the truth about this world, he will never know as much as I do. He will never see the world in the way I do. All you have ever seen has been just one kind of monster, I've seen dozens; I know a different world than he will ever know." I said and headed toward the pantry. I pulled out some potatoes and came back over.

Billy opened his mouth but Jacob came back in at that time. "Hey, dad, there's a game on that you'd probably enjoy. I can help Isabella with making food."

I let out a mental groan, I was shocked he remembered my name, but I would have preferred that he had remembered my nickname.

Billy rolled out of the kitchen and to the living room with a slight grunt. "So what did he want to talk to you about?" Jacob asked.

I grinned in spite of myself. "First of all, it's Bella. And secondly, I don't gossip."

"Another words it's about me, right?" Jacob asked.

My grin turned into a smirk, the boy was smart even if he didn't know the reasoning behind my conversation with his father. "It wasn't _all_ about you." I said.

"So what are you making for supper?" Jacob asked, apparently he could tell that I wasn't giving out any more info, like I said, smart boy.

I went back to the fridge and grabbed a lemon marinade out of it, "Marinated steak, baked potatoes, and steamed veggies, you sure you want to help?"

He nodded and then shook his head, and rushed back to the living room. I laughed and got to work, if there was only one thing that scared boys off, it was cooking a hard meal. Well that and shopping.

Rosalie POV

I didn't care how perfect Bella seemed to be for Edward, something seemed off about her. She didn't shy around us, and that just didn't make sense. I'm not saying that we scare all humans to the point of running, but she didn't even flinch from us.

There was definitely something off about her. She had made a point of being friendly with us, of showing off in front of us, something was wrong. Then there was the way she had dressed today and her comment yesterday. She had made a point of asking about our eyes, she had shown us a Dracula book, and today she had been in a blood red tee with her hair up so that her neck was visible. It was as if she knew what we were, and without Edward being able to hear her mind it was impossible to tell if she did.

Yet Edward was alive in a way that I had never seen him before. Even now, just after two days, it was clear how good she was for him. Maybe my only problem was that she was human.

Edward POV

All I could see when I closed my eyes was the dead rendition of Bella's friend, the well-based sketch that she had been drawing in biology. The girl had been named Keira, and now I discovered that she had been killed by a vampire. How had Bella survived, if she had seen it happen?

I couldn't understand how she was still alive if she had been there when Keira had been attacked. It didn't seem possible. I wanted to return to Bella's room and see if that journal of hers said anything. I knew that would be a serious invasion of privacy, but I needed to know, and I doubted I'd be able to get her to open up about it.

Just then Carlisle got home from work; he had a strange look on his face. "What is it, Carlisle?" I asked.

"I have an appointment with Bella tomorrow." He said.

"For what?" I asked; she had seemed perfectly healthy.

"Apparently she wants to get a prescription for birth control." Carlisle replied.

Bella POV

I had made my call to the clinic to get an appointment with Dr. Cullen for a prescription, for birth control. At least that was my excuse; I really wanted to meet him so I could figure out if he had an ability or what.

Now I just had to set that damn sinker, which meant contacting Tyler. I looked up the Crowley's number in the phone book. I found the only Crowley listed in town and dialed.

Luck was with me, Tyler answered, "Hello?"

"Hey, Tyler, it's Bella, I was reconsidering that dating offer, and you know I'd be happy to date you."

**A.N.: **Bad Jade, please review. The stories Red Nights and Death Burn have officially been removed from this site. The stories Scarlet Hate and Sun Of Blood will be removed by next weekend. I have a new story on TWCS Library called Darker Nights, you can read the first chapter on this site for two weeks, before I will take it down, there is already a link to it on my profile.


	8. Kiss And Meet

**Disclaimer: **I have never and will never own the Twilight Saga.

Ch 7 – Kiss And Meet

_February 10__th__, 2002_

_Today was Valkron's seventeenth birthday, and we celebrated it in true hunter fashion. Valkron and I went on our first hunt together. Our hunt was in Detroit, at a bar. Did you know that you could convince a bar to let a fourteen year old get alcohol? I sure as hell didn't. Valkron took up a position working the liquor; how he convinced the owner to let him work for a night is beyond me. I was the bait, and Valkron was there to save my ass._

_The vampire had a thing for attractive young girls. You'll notice the past tense, because he doesn't have a thing for young girls anymore, he's destroyed, and so it would be a little hard for him. But I'm getting ahead of myself._

_We spent several hours in the bar with me gradually sneaking closer and closer to the vampire, until he finally noticed me. The instant I was close enough to see his burgundy eyes I wanted to kill him then. He didn't even bother to try and disguise what he was. It was despicable, but I had to bide my time. If I had rushed, it would have been my body on fire, not the vampire's. _

_He took the bait, just the way most vampires would. Vampires may not be stupid, in matter of fact, most are pretty smart, but most vampires were also fairly predictable. Once he showed enough interest that I knew he'd follow I left the bar and headed outside. I waited till the door was shut before I drank the vile of Calts Oil. I may hate the stuff, but I can't deny that it's effective. _

_I had the vampire almost completely destroyed before Valkron finally joined me. We burned the pieces. And then Valkron and I each drank five shots of vodka. Valkron claims that its tradition to drink ten shots of vodka for each vampire you kill; since we killed the vampire together we split the shot bounty. I liked the tradition, though I'm not sure I'll like it tomorrow when I wake up with a hangover._

_Blue Rose, AKA Bella_

Bella POV

After I finished talking to Tyler I headed upstairs. I tied a new snap wire to the window, exchanged the bullets in the gun for the exploding kind, updated my journal, and got ready for bed. I was currently keeping an open entry on the hunt that I was doing. Edward was the vampire that I was using. I fell asleep and that night I dreamt of Edward.

Edward POV

I watched Bella sleep that night, though I managed to talk myself out of reading her journal. There had been another snap when I opened the window, but I still couldn't figure out what it was coming from. Now that it was morning I was regretting the choice of not reading her journal. I had had to get out of her bedroom before dawn because she woke up at dawn; even though there was no alarm she had no trouble waking at dawn, almost like her mind was set to do that no matter what.

What had been strange was that right after she woke up she went over to her window and checked it out. From where I was hiding in the forest I saw her brief smirk, it wasn't the pretty kind of smirk. And then she pulled something off, and proceeded to get ready for school.

I had gone home after that. I was now at school; Bella had beaten us there, just like yesterday. Except this time she wasn't parked next to where we normally park, instead she was parked right beside Tyler's van. Tyler and her were talking, or he was talking and she flirting. Tyler said a way to obvious joke, and she laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world.

Once I parked we got out. I felt Alice grab my shoulder, but I wasn't going anywhere until I knew what the heck was going on. The last two day she had only shown interest in me, and today it was like I didn't even exist in her world. Tyler must have realized that I was watching because he made a move to kiss her. Her eyes flashed to mine and she winked just before she let him kiss her. She wound her right hand in his hair and leaned back against her car locking her left leg around his hip like they weren't in a public parking lot with dozens of kids arriving by the minute.

I was seeing red, though I was beginning to recognize what she was doing. She was baiting me, and it was working. She gave me yesterday to ask on my own, and now she was making me jealous. After a moment they pulled apart and she asked him to walk her to first period, he slung his arm over her shoulder, and they walked toward the school. As they passed me Tyler chuckled at my stony expression, and then proceeded to kiss her cheek as they continued forward.

Jasper put his hand on my arm to hold me back, as he sensed my sudden rage. "Calm down, Edward, she's doing this on purpose; she wants you to be jealous." Jasper growled in my ear. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose.

Bella POV

As I noticed Tyler finally decide to make his move and kiss me. I looked toward Edward and winked, ignoring Alice and Jasper who were with him, also watching Tyler and me. And then I threw myself into the kiss. I latched my hand into his hair. He did similar with his one hand, and his other pressed against the small of my back. I acted in kind by latching my leg around his hip as I leaned back against the car.

After several minutes I finally pulled away and resisted the urge to chuckle at the slight pout that appeared on Tyler's lips. "Why don't you walk me to first period?" I asked.

He slung his arm over my shoulder and we headed toward the school. I studiously ignored Edward as we walked past, but Tyler didn't. He chuckled and kissed my cheek as we passed Edward. I hadn't needed Tyler to do that but it was a nice touch. We continued on to my first period, outside the door Tyler spoke. "Well, I suppose that's all you need me for."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, semi-guiltily.

"Come on, Bella, I'm not an idiot. Just because I don't have an A+ average doesn't mean that I'm a complete fool. I can put two and two together. Since you arrived two days ago you've only had eyes for Edward, I can figure out why you acted the way you did. You wanted me to do that so he'd have a reason to be jealous and finally get his ass in gear and ask you on a date, but if it doesn't work and you want someone to help him get even more jealous I'll be glad to help." Tyler said and walked away.

I blushed, what was it with the boys of this town and being so flipping smart? I knew I wasn't that transparent. I would be glad when I was done with this mission; the boys were too smart here, besides I wanted to go help Valkron. He had left a message on my phone this morning; he was having trouble with the three vampires in Oregon.

I couldn't go help him until after I finished my hunt though, so first I had to finish these seven.

Edward POV

When it was time for biology Bella was already there, already doodling. It seemed to be some sort of tradition of hers. As I took my seat I didn't resist the urge to look at the image this time; I knew I wouldn't last the whole class period anyway.

There was a well drawn rendition of a wolf on the paper this time. The wolf stood on its hind legs, and appeared to be built more like a man than a dog. I watched as she started sketching in fine paper thin lines within the wolf. The lines she was adding in were making the shape of a human male within the wolf, a werewolf. In fancy cursive she wrote three words underneath the drawing.

_**They're coming back.**_

I stared at the words and the image for several minutes. _How _did she know about the La Push wolves? It didn't seem possible. How did she know any of the stuff that she did? I got out a paper. I couldn't take my eyes off of the drawing though. By the time I finally calmed myself enough to write down what I wanted to ask of her the bell rang and she was gone. She was out of the seat before even me, and out the door before the rest of the class.

She had an appointment with Carlisle, so I assumed that was where she was rushing to. I was beginning to wonder if it was a good idea for us to be near her though, she knew too much.

Bella POV

I wanted to pound my head into a rock as I drove to the hospital. Why I had felt the need to warn him about the wolves, they had a treaty for crying out loud. Why on earth did I feel the need to protect him? What the heck was wrong with me? I shouldn't feel like this. Was I getting attached? I couldn't let that happen, I'd have to end this soon.

I pulled to a stop, got out, and headed to the waiting room. I checked myself in before I took a seat. I waited for Carlisle to come out and as I did I began to go through the mental checklist. I needed to know if I was getting attached, if I was gaining Stockholm syndrome. If I was, I would have to withdraw myself from this hunt immediately and call in someone else. Bad things happened when hunter's got attached, so I knew if that was the case I would have to remove myself immediately.

I didn't get very far through the mental checklist before Carlisle walked through the door. He had blond hair, and a well built frame, fairly tall but not so much that it made him seem awkward. He was clearly old and wise, and probably a fighter; I doubted he had an ability though. I stood up bringing my hand out for him to shake, "Hello Dr. Cullen."

**A.N.: **This chapter was edited slightly from the TWCS Library version due to language and some sexual content. Can you guess who the three vampires that Valkron are dealing with are? Please review.

**A.N. 2: **Scarlet Hate and Sun Of Blood are now removed, Alice and Angel's Sisterhood will be removed the next weekend.

**A.N. 3: **Due to the fact that I am getting my blogspot set up and up to date many of my stories won't be updated for several weeks. I will continue to update this story do to high demand. It will probably be two to three weeks before Sheer Crimson is updated, and many of my stores that are now only on TWCS.


	9. Worrying

**A.N.: **Thank you for all the reviews, alerts, faves, and for just reading in general.

**Disclaimer: **I have never and will never own the Twilight Saga.

Ch 8 – Worrying

_September 13__th__, 2002_

_Yahoo, another birthday, NOT. Valkron wasn't here today, it sucked. His gifts were here, but he had to hunt. I hate that he's seventeen. If he was still sixteen he wouldn't be on a hunt on his own. I wanted to go with him, but he said it was too dangerous, damn it, I'm bored._

_Keira was here but she just doesn't get that I want normal presents. What I wouldn't give for a normal birthday, I know it won't happen though. I just wish. _

_My mother and Phil weren't here, again. Why does it surprise me every year when they don't have time for me?_

_My mother got me a vial of Chadrins Drink and Phil got me a book on poisonous plants. Like I needed either. Keira was a little more thoughtful, but it was still damn hunting gear. Keira wants to be a scriptor, a recorder. So she hand wrote a journal for me with a brief history on hunters, how we began, that kind of thing. It also had an alchemist's journal and an apothecary's journal. It was an amazing gift, just not normal._

_Once again, Valkron's gifts were the best; it was just too bad that he wasn't here. Like always he dutifully got me a real hunter gift, and then I got the sweet stuff. His hunter gift was clothes, you heard me, clothes. Not just any clothes though, it was an official hunter outfit; most people don't get them till they're seventeen. Then my regular gifts were there. He got me an amethyst pin, I am going to have to talk to him about spending too much; he'll laugh it off. He also got me a black Valentino gown and a pair of matching stilettos also by Valentino. I don't know what I'll do if I ever lose Valkron._

_Blue Rose, AKA Bella_

Bella POV

It had been four days since I had met with Carlisle. I was beginning to lose my mind. I hadn't been in contact with Valkron in three days, I was certain something had happened to him. What was worse was that I was now certain that I wasn't falling for Edward, but that I had. And I couldn't force myself to call my mom and tell her I failed. Edward had stopped by my room every night; so far he hadn't done anything stupid.

I was about ready to jump ship and head down to Oregon to find Valkron. Alive, dead, or worse; I needed to know what was going on. His phone was off so I couldn't track it, my car was too conspicuous, so I would have to travel on foot. That would make for a good week hike.

I had to know what the heck was happening though; I would lose my mind if I didn't.

The worst part was that if I did leave, I would not only admit how much I needed Valkron, but the fact that I couldn't successfully kill seven freaking vampires. And all because I had formed emotions for a soulless creature.

Tonight, however, I was heading with Jessica and Angela to Port Angeles. I needed to get away from town anyway, and more importantly, get away from Edward. I was going to break away from Jessica and Angela once I had the chance, I needed some vodka. Stupid habit that Valkron got me into. Hunters treasured vodka like liquid gold, we drank it before completing hunts to give us courage, and after in celebration.

I put on a black bandeau, a pair of white skinny jeans, and a simple cream colored sweater; along with my black stilettos. My gun was too wide to securely hide under my sweater right now, so it stayed in my purse. I pulled out my hunter bag and pulled out my stiletto knifes. I put my largest one behind my back. I grabbed a leg strap and put the longest stiletto blade on the outside of my right thigh, under my pants. Lastly I did my hair in a bun, and used the shortest two to hold the bun together.

I put the rest of the stiletto knifes in the bag, and put the bag back where I hid it.

I didn't normally use stiletto knives, and they wouldn't do a bit of good against a vampire, but they were useful against most other mythological creatures. They wouldn't kill a shape shifter, a Chubacobra, or a werewolf. They would do damage, and give a distraction. Of course, stiletto knives were really good for defense against predators, the human kind.

As hunters we didn't search out _human_ murderers, _human_ rapists, or _human _crooks. But on the chance that we found one, we hunted them down. Call it policing our own.

Stiletto knives weren't good for throwing. They were too out of balance to throw well, and too light to keep on course. I needed some form of protection that I could get to immediately though. My gun was stuffed in my purse, my zipped shut purse, it was impossible to get to in a short amount of time. I couldn't carry a throwing dagger with the outfit I was wearing, so stiletto knives it was.

The horn beeped outside, Jessica must be here. I took the stairs two at a time in my rush to get downstairs. I was glad to be getting away for a little while. In all my life I had never really had girl friends that I could just have fun with. True there was Keira, but it wasn't the same, her whole life revolved around hunting, she had always talked about it.

That hadn't been the case with me, all I had wanted to do was live a life of a normal child, and my whole childhood had been like that. Until Keira died that was, and then everything changed. Yet when I had been young Keira tried to convince me how good being a hunter was, while Valkron–as dedicated as Keira–tolerated, even encouraged, my opinions about life.

They had been the only friends that I had ever had, except in passing, and really, that was all Angela and Jessica would end up being. There had been a few other hunter kids that I had spent time with, but none of them were close to me. It was like my mom and me. We weren't close, we were two separate hunters.

Mom claimed that the way she raised me was better than the way her mom raised her. But I didn't see what had been so bad. My mother had been raised in Detroit for most of her childhood. Her mother was a special hunter, a permy, as we call it. Her mother had pretty much policed Detroit, and actually lived there. My grandma hadn't always been around, but my mom got to go to school, have friends, and have a semi-normal life.

I, well I had always been on the move.

Valkron and Keira were the only ones that I had been close to, and now Keira was dead, and I didn't know what I would do if Valkron ended up dead or worse.

I didn't dare think of what would happen in the case that it was the worse. I didn't think about it, but I knew. I would hunt him down as his mate, just as he would do for me. The last gift.

I get into the back seat of Jessica's old suburban. "You have to tell me where you buy your clothes, Bella." Jessica said from the driver's seat.

I pull myself back to reality. "Which piece?" I asked, I wasn't joking around; my items came from all over. The bandeau I was wearing was shipped direct from France as a Christmas gift from Valkron this last Christmas. The boy never gave up in lavishing me. The skinny pants I had bought on Amazon. The sweater was from Old Navy. And my stilettos were Valentino.

"How many places do you shop at?" Jess asked.

"A lot, this is the first semi-permanent residence that I've taken in years, literally. I don't live in permanent homes, Jess. Mom and I are on the move a lot. I've shopped over the internet, mail-ordered, bought designer, shopped out of warehouses, found my way into department stores, and on occasion have made purchases from either vintage or used stores."

"What does your mom do that forces you guys to move around so much?" Jess asked.

Angela's hand twitched and I knew she was resisting the urge to slap Jess. Angela would have made a good hunter, technically still could… I shoved that errant thought out of my mind.

"She does lots of stuff, it doesn't really matter what." I said.

Jessica grumbled just as my phone rang. I pulled it out of my purse, checking the number. It was Valkron; I let out a sigh of relief. I couldn't answer it here though, so I sent it to voicemail, he'd leave a message.

**A.N.: **This chapter has been edited from the TWCS version due to language. Please review.

**A.N. 2: **Alice and Angel's Sisterhood have now officially been deleted, Soul's Light and A taste of Darker Nights will be deleted next weekend


	10. Shopping

**A.N.: **Thank you for getting me to fifty-seven reviews, for the faves, the alerts, and for just reading in general.

**Disclaimer: **I have never and will never own the Twilight Saga.

Ch 9 – Shopping

_March 10__th__, 2003_

_Valkron and I are alive by stupidity only. We were supposed to be sleeping in that warehouse too. We weren't, we were out having fun at the theater. I don't dare think of what would have happened if we had been here. It would have surely ended in our death._

_My mother hadn't been happy about us. She could see what I too had seen, but had purposely been ignoring. Valkron was no longer just my best friend, he had other emotions for me. Emotions that I pretended not to see, because I knew that if I admitted to the fact that he was in love with me, it would change the definition of our relationship._

_But this fire, this needless destruction of members of our faction, would also change our relationship. I had seen it in Valkron's eyes, had seen the plan he had. I could tell, he would ask me to marry him soon. I would be sixteen soon enough, it really wasn't a shock. But how Valkron could focus on that when he had lost his father to this fire was beyond me. Clearly focusing on the future was his coping method._

_We knew that it was a vampire who had destroyed our safe-haven. We knew it was a vampire who had killed twenty-five of our people, some of which weren't even hunting yet. We knew, but we couldn't prove._

_Blue Rose AKA Bella_

Bella POV

Jessica was clearly suspicious of me. Not that I could blame her, who wouldn't be? My whole life was suspicious especially while living in a town of busy-bodies. There wasn't nearly enough about my past, and I stood out. It wasn't like I didn't know that I stood out either. I wore clothes that made me look like I was asking for trouble. Because, when I told all truth, I was asking for trouble. There was a reason I kept a gun and knives on me at all times.

Jessica and Angela wouldn't leave me alone, at all. Whenever one of them went to change in a dressing room, the other stayed out. I was finally tired of the unsubtle attempt at keeping me with them.

"So what's the deal with keeping me here, locked to this chair while you two shop?" I asked sociably to Angela, after Jessica went to try on another dress.

Angela looked toward the dressing room before answering me. "It's Jessica's idea. She wants to keep an eye on you and figure out more about you. She doesn't like that in spite of how friendly you seem to be, and how you always are in the in, there isn't any depth in your answers, your looks, you whole physique. Frankly, Bella, she isn't the only one."

Great, just great. "It shouldn't have taken me this long." I muttered.

Angela looked up at me, shocked. "What shouldn't have taken you this long?"

"The hit or whatever you want to call it. I was supposed to only be here a few days and then gone." I said. I knew it was dangerous telling Angela, I knew I might pay for it, I knew I might end up having to take her life. If she didn't accept it and keep her mouth shut, there would be trouble. But I was also almost certain that she wouldn't tattle or scream.

Angela's eyes widened. "Wait, so the rumors are true, your mother is a hit man?"

I sighed and sat down on a metal rack across from where she was sitting on the bench. It was strictly forbidden to tell an outside human about us, but it wasn't like there wasn't a good portion of people from this area who didn't already know. "Not exactly, Angela. We're not really hit men, we're hunters."

"Hunter, you mean like bounty hunters?"

I chuckled, "Not exactly, we don't get paid. Besides, hit man, bounty hunter, murderer, serial killer; well, those are all terms for hunters that hunt humans. We don't hunt humans."

"What do you hunt then, trophy bucks?"

"No, Angela, I don't know how to put this out there so that you will understand. The world you live in, that most humans live in, is sheltered. There's a whole world out there that most humans aren't aware of. That you aren't aware of."

Angela snorted, "What are you talking about, aliens?"

"No, to my knowledge, there are no aliens. Though, considering all the other mythical creatures that I have run into I wouldn't say it's impossible. No, I'm talking about the creatures of children's nightmares. I'm referring to vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters, Danphyrs, banshees, fairies, elves, witches, Chubacobras, and so much more. I'm talking about all those things that you convince yourself never really exist by the time that you're eight, nine years of age."

"That's not possible, those things don't exist."

"You know, I never had the luxury of denial, because I was thrown headfirst into it from the time I was born. Well, you see, the Cullen's, you know how unearthly they are. How they have unnatural beauty and seem to be all too pale. You know how their eyes change from a light buttery gold to a smoky topaz to a dark brown to black. You may have noticed how they avoid being at school when the sun is out. You may have noted their strange, century old, names or the fact that they speak in cadences that don't come from this time period. They're vampires, Angela. And I was sent here to kill them."

Angela's eyes bugged out of her head, but I could tell, she was seriously thinking over what I said; seriously considering as to if it was actually possible.

"You think it over; I'm going to go for a walk. Tell Jessica whatever you need to, I can't stay here any longer. And if you guys decide to leave before I get back, go ahead, I can find my own way back." I said and then I headed to the front. I walked out the front door, pulled my cell phone out, and dialed voicemail.

I put the phone to my ear and listened to the message, _"Hey Bells, look I know it has been awhile but did you seriously have to ignore my call. I mean, I know I've been ignoring yours and all, but you know that I've been busy dealing with the nomads. That's actually why I'm calling. There's three of them, two male, one female. The one male is a mid-level tracker, he goes by James, and the other male is just a tag along, Laurent. Both males clearly know how to fight, and both are older than their first century. The female is another story; she clearly has a fairly strong ability to avert. She has long red hair, goes by Victoria, she's under a hundred, probably around sixty, seventy, but all my searches came up empty so I assume that Victoria wasn't her original name. She's not a fighter, but she's not untrained. She's James's mate. They got away from me and were headed north. If they show up in your vicinity, James took my jacket, I want it back. Get it back for me, love you, miss you, Valkron."_

I chuckled; I'd have to be on the lookout for them. But I was going to be heading south no later than tomorrow night. I had made up my mind. I was ending this mission of mine; I'd go to their house tonight and destroy it. I might not be able to kill all seven, but I'd get a few.

Edward POV

Bella made friends among the teens fast enough, but there was something different about her and everyone noticed it. I wasn't certain that she didn't want everyone to notice. She was making a point. Everyday she had drawn something different, and they all added up to the same thing, she knew about vampires, she knew what I was, she knew about the shape-shifters, and she knew that they weren't werewolves. Today's drawing had been different. It had been a rose, a very well drawn rose. She had colored it blue and I recognized it as the same rose that was tattooed on the back of her shoulder. I had only seen the tattoo for the briefest moment when she was stripped to her bikini pants before putting on the long bed tee she slept in.

She also regularly practiced throwing daggers, wore clothes that showed off her curves, and in general made a point of socializing. She hadn't ended up dating Tyler. She had given me two days to ask her out, and then she made a point of making me jealous again. She was leaning against her car with Mike all over her after school that day. Once again, she didn't start dating him.

Today, after school, she went with Angela and Jessica shopping. I had followed, but hadn't really paid attention to their conversation past the initial start. When it seemed like all they would be doing was gossip, I gave up and focused my attention on my music.

I decided to peak back into their conversation. I caught Jessica's mind. _I can't freaking believe that Angela let Bella go. She knew that I wanted to get the scoop on her and actually learn something real about her._

Wait, Bella was gone, where the heck had she gone?

**A.N.: **This chapter has been edited from the TWCS version due to language. Bad Jade, Please review.

**A.N. 2: **Soul's Light and A taste of Darker Nights have now been deleted.

**A.N. 3: **If you ever tire of my stories please try out Solar Eclipse the sequel to Red Moon by Lil-Rahl


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